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Sayed Shah Sharifi remains in Afghanistan but the case of the interpreter who wants to come to Canada has pitted two of the largest government departments against each other.

Such an increasingly public battle is rare here, but it is a sign of the emotions that have been sparked by Sharifi’s plight.

It is also a faceoff between two departments run by powerful ministers, two men who are on everyone’s short list of potential successors to Stephen Harper some day.

Those in the defence department are no longer shy about saying that Sharifi is being punished because he went public with his story, chronicled by the Star’s Paul Watson.

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Defence Minister Peter MacKay — although he has remained silent on the matter — is known to be very popular with the rank-and-file of the Canadian military, and is viewed as something of a soldier’s soldier in a finely cut suit.

That rank-and-file wants Sharifi here.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is adamant that government officials acted properly in denying entry to Sharifi and he appears to have dug in his heels, vowing that pressure from Watson or this paper’s editorial board will not change his mind.

But, of course, this is not a Toronto Star campaign.

Defence officials believe if Sharifi is left behind in Kandahar, he will be murdered by the Taliban.

As Canada repatriates its equipment and infrastructure from Kandahar, it is leaving something behind — the brave interpreters who worked alongside Canadian soldiers and officials, one defence source said this week.

And those soldiers and officials are accusing Kenney of breaking a promise to find those interpreters safe haven here after their service to Canadians.

Now, various sources are pushing back on behalf of Kenney.

They have come forward, adding details to Kenney’s contention that Sharifi could offer no specific threat against him and, in their view, had credibility problems.

Much of it seems to turn on Sharifi’s marital status, or what sources say, was his evolving marital status.

They say during two applications and one interview, Sharifi went from being divorced, to being married, then being divorced again in his final interview.

They say Sharifi explained these discrepancies by that fact that divorce is easy to obtain in Afghanistan.

But the officials who handled the Sharifi application believe it is extremely difficult to obtain a divorce in Afghanistan, certainly in the time frame in question.

Sharifi told Watson in July that his new wife had not yet decided whether she would go to Canada with him because she was caring for his parents.

Should this matter?

Those who support Kenney say had he been accepted, his wife would have been able to join him, it speaks to Sharifi’s credibility.

Yet, this is a man whose bravery, character and morality have been praised by officials time and again — in writing — by Canadian military officials who had worked with him.

The sources maintain that in his first application, Sharifi cited threats received by neighbours, but none directed at him.

Then, on his second application, he cited threatening calls made while he was working with Canadians in Panjwaii. But when the three-member panel weighing his application tried to confirm that, they said they found that the threats were left with a general number used by translators, and none was specifically aimed at Sharifi.

Sharifi, quite reasonably, told them that all interpreters working for foreign troops were under threat from the Taliban.

Kenney says he created the program to help those facing “specific, individualized” threats.

So, a man, who by all accounts exhibited courage and commitment in working with Canadians, has apparently been tripped up by confusion surrounding dates and specific threats and inconsistencies surrounding his marital status.

Is that enough?

Defence sources call it bureaucratic nonsense.

Surely Sharifi has bought himself some leeway if all the boxes are not properly filled in, given the risks he faced.

Perhaps it’s time for MacKay to step up.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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